Mississippi State coach Rick Ray apologizes after directing profane language at opposing player

Fresh off a thorough beating of rival Tennessee, No. 6 Florida’s next game comes at Mississippi State, where Bulldogs coach Rick Ray is currently asking for forgiveness following an incident that occurred earlier this weekend.

Rick Ray apologized Sunday after directing profane language at an opposing player this weekend. (AP Photo)

In the final seconds of Mississippi State’s 82-63 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, Rebels guard Marshall Henderson, known as one of the most enigmatic players in college basketball, was walking off the court while shouting emphatically to his teammates. An unhappy Ray shouted at Henderson with what appeared on video to be profane language.

Ray later apologized for his actions.

“I responded inappropriately to an Ole Miss player [Saturday] in our game,” Ray texted ESPN’s Andy Katz on Sunday. “I reached out to [Ole Miss] coach [Andy] Kennedy immediately to apologize and subsequently to the player too. There is no reason for a coach to ever have interaction with an opposing player, ever, regardless of the circumstances. I was more upset with our performance than the player. I was totally at fault.”

Florida fans are well aware of Henderson’s antics. He mockingly Gator “chomped” after leading Ole Miss to an upset victory over Florida in the championship game of last season’s SEC Tournament. He has also thrown ice and used inappropriate gestures to aggravate opposing teams and fans.

The Gators play the Bulldogs on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Here is a video of the incident (you can decide for yourself if Ray was inviting Henderson over for some fondue or something else): Rick Ray uses profane language